NIH Puts $88 Million into Human-Based Research Facilities and Weighs a Yearly Public Count of Lab Animals

Update Note: This article reports new information involving the Department of Health and Human Services' Sept. 21, 2026, package of animal-testing actions following MedicalDaily's earlier coverage of the FDA rule. The newest details come from NIH, HHS, and FDA announcements dated Sept. 21, 2026.

The National Institutes of Health is spending $88 million on 10 construction projects in nine states to build facilities for research methods based on human biology rather than animals. It is also asking research institutions whether it should publish a yearly public count of the live vertebrate animals used in NIH-funded labs, according to an NIH announcement.